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July 2018 Wrap-Up: Books and Reviews

August 3, 2018

Ye Grande Olde TBR(e) Challenge Update

I started July with 204 unread books sitting around my house. And I ended with … *drumroll* …203! Yay! I did some traveling in July, which is always iffy for reading – sometimes I’m able to spend whole plane rides absorbed in a book and spend my vacation downtime reading, but other times I’m busy with all of my anti-anxiety flying tricks (mostly knitting) and can’t stay focused on a book, and have too much scheduled on my vacation to have much leisure reading time. Unfortunately, this year’s trip was more of the latter, but I still managed to get a decent bit read! (Especially considering that The Luminaries took me a month to read just by itself. That thing is a brick.)

…anyways, let’s take a look at the breakdown:

Neutral books – Read, but don’t affect the TBR pile

Audiobooks
War Storm by Victoria Aveyard
Justice Hall by Laurie R. King
Hidden Figures: The Untold True Story of Four African-American Women Who Helped Launch our Nature Into Space by Margot Lee Shetterly (reviews coming soon)

Read But Not Owned
Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke
Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke
Gun Machine by Warren Ellis (reviews coming soon)

Re-Reads
Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (huzzah!)
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (review coming soon)

 
 
Added to my TBR/eTBR pile (all-around shame!)
Nothing. That’s right, flat out NOTHING. Good job, self!

© 2018 Fyrefly’s Book Blog. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Fyrefly’s Book Blog or its RSS feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is being used without permission.

Year in Review 2017

July 29, 2018

If we can have Christmas in July, we can also have a year-end wrap-up in July, right? Let’s not think about the state of my to-do list; let’s look at some of my reading stats instead, shall we?

  • I finished 82 books this year, 55 of which were new-to-me, and 27 of which were re-reads.
  • 47 of those were paper or e-books, for a total of 14,988 pages read. The remaining 35 were audiobooks, with a total of 16.39 days of listening time. (Not included in either of those tallies are all the individual short stories I read and/or listened to.) If you count the text equivalent of the audiobooks, I consumed 29,122 pages of reading material this year.
  • I read books by 53 different authors, about 45% of which were new to me. My gender split was pretty good; 42 of the books I read were by men, and 40 were by women.
  • I didn’t do a great job of reading my own books this year (new books, anyways, I re-read a bunch of my own books). Of the new books I read, only 26% came from my TBR pile. Another 38% were audiobooks, 31% were from the library, and the remaining 5% were e-books freebies or from the eTBR “pile”.
  • I was pretty good about not acquiring new books! I only added 13 books to my TBR pile – which is BY FAR the lowest its ever been since I’ve been keeping track. I only read 10 books from the pile ,but I cleared another 7 when I moved, leaving me with a net change of -4 TBR books!
  • Of the books I read from my TBR pile, the average length of time between when I acquired them and when I finished them was 381 days.
  • About a third of the new books I read were published in 2016 or 2017, but another third were from the 1990s, so the average publication date of my books was 2008.
  • Unsurprisingly, about half the books I read this year were fantasy; with historical fiction taking up another 18%, science fiction and non-fiction coming in at 9% each, and mysteries, contemporary fiction, and classics accounting for the rest.
  • About 41% of the books I read were young adult or mid-grade.

You can calculate these kind of stats for yourself using my reading tracking spreadsheet. You can download the 2014 version here: 2014 reading tracking spreadsheet; just change the tabs for 2018. You can find the instructions for using it here: reading tracking spreadsheet instructions.

Here are my picks-of-the-month for the year! (Among my new books – picking books that I already loved enough to re-read as my favorite of the month just doesn’t seem fair.)
Read more…

June 2018 Wrap-Up: Books and Reviews

July 12, 2018

Ye Grande Olde TBR(e) Challenge Update

I started June with 205 unread books sitting around my house. And I ended with … *drumroll* …204! June was a pretty good month, y’all! Not much clearance from the TBR pile, but some, and a fair bit of reading overall, enough to get me back on track for my yearly goals.

…anyways, let’s take a look at the breakdown:

Neutral books – Read, but don’t affect the TBR pile

Audiobooks
King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard (review coming soon)

Read But Not Owned (Books)
Simon vs. the Homo sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan (reviews coming soon)

Read But Not Owned (Graphic Novels)
Paper Girls, Vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan
Paper Girls, Vol. 4 by Brian K. Vaughan
The Wicked & the Divine, Vol. 6: Imperial Phase II by Kieron Gillen
Mighty Jack and the Goblin King by Ben Hatke
(reviews coming soon)

E-books
Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange (review coming soon)

Re-Reads
Paper Girls, Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis
The Wicked & the Divine, Vol. 5: Imperial Phase I by Kieron Gillen

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (huzzah!)
The Day the Angels Fell by Shawn Smucker (review coming soon)

 
Added to my eTBR pile (non-storage-space-related shame!)
Circe by Madeline Miller What Unites Us by Dan Rather
Food: A Cultural Culinary History by Ken Albala – Cosmos by Carl Sagan
The Flowers of Vashnoi by Lois McMaster Bujold * Pursuant to the discussion on this post, I’ve decided to create an eTBR pile for e-books and audiobooks that I accept for review or for which I actually pay money. I’m not adding them into my total TBR numbers, but I have to fess up about them somewhere. Keeps me honest.
 

© 2018 Fyrefly’s Book Blog. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Fyrefly’s Book Blog or its RSS feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is being used without permission.

May 2018 Wrap-Up: Books and Reading

June 1, 2018

Ye Grande Olde TBR(e) Challenge Update

I started May with 204 unread books sitting around my house. And I ended with … *drumroll* …205! Not bad! It takes me a while to get back into a reading groove after a busy semester, especially with paper books, but overall May treated me pretty darn well!

…anyways, let’s take a look at the breakdown:

Neutral books – Read, but don’t affect the TBR pile

Audiobooks
The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall by Chris Dolley
O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King
Head On by John Scalzi (reviews coming soon)

Read But Not Owned (Books)
The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Kim Barker
Valerian: The Complete Collection, Volume 1 by Pierre Christin (reviews coming soon)

E-books
The Power by Naomi Alderman (review coming soon)

Re-Reads
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Changes to the TBR pile

 
Added to my TBR pile (all-around shame!)
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton  
 
Added to my eTBR pile (non-storage-space-related shame!)
War Storm by Victoria Aveyard Justice Hall by Laurie R. King
A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas * Pursuant to the discussion on this post, I’ve decided to create an eTBR pile for e-books and audiobooks that I accept for review or for which I actually pay money. I’m not adding them into my total TBR numbers, but I have to fess up about them somewhere. Keeps me honest.
 

© 2018 Fyrefly’s Book Blog. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Fyrefly’s Book Blog or its RSS feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is being used without permission.

April 2018 Wrap-Up: Books and Reviews

May 25, 2018

Ye Grande Olde TBR(e) Challenge Update

I started April with 204 unread books sitting around my house. And I ended with … *drumroll* …204! It was a long semester, and April was a loooong month. But I survived! (And have spent most of May recuperating.)

…anyways, let’s take a look at the breakdown:

Neutral books – Read, but don’t affect the TBR pile

Audiobooks
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
I Know I Am But What Are You? by Samantha Bee (reviews coming soon)

Read But Not Owned (Books)
La Belle Sauvage by Phillip Pullman (review coming soon)

Re-Reads
Persuasion by Jane Austen

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (huzzah!)
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin

(Technically not part of my TBR count, so my numbers didn’t go down, but I did already own it, so it sort of half counts?)

 
 
Added to my TBR pile (all-around shame!)
Nothing this month! Good job me!
 
Non-TBR acquisitions (storage-space-related shame!)
Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species: A Graphic Adaptation by Michael Keller  
 
Added to my eTBR pile (non-storage-space-related shame!)
Head On by John Scalzi The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall by Chris Dolley
* Pursuant to the discussion on this post, I’ve decided to create an eTBR pile for e-books and audiobooks that I accept for review or for which I actually pay money. I’m not adding them into my total TBR numbers, but I have to fess up about them somewhere. Keeps me honest.
 

© 2018 Fyrefly’s Book Blog. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Fyrefly’s Book Blog or its RSS feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is being used without permission.

March 2018 Wrap-Up: Books and Reading

April 1, 2018

Ye Grande Olde TBR(e) Challenge Update

I started March with 205 unread books sitting around my house. And I ended with … *drumroll* …204! March was a pretty good month, reading-wise, although only one of the books I read was off my TBR shelf. I got the chance to take a short vacation this month, so travel time always helps with the reading. Plus I’m in the middle of quite a lot of books (more than usual, anyways), so I should be able to knock out a fair few in April.

…anyways, let’s take a look at the breakdown:

Neutral books – Read, but don’t affect the TBR pile

Audiobooks
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill* (review coming soon)

E-books
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller * (review coming soon)

Read But Not Owned (Books)
As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman
The Grave’s a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
Wires and Nerve, Vol. 1 by Marissa Meyer
Wires and Nerve, Vol. 2: Gone Rogue by Marissa Meyer (reviews coming soon)



Re-Reads
Lock In by John Scalzi

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (huzzah!)
Longbourn by Jo Baker (review coming soon)

 
Added to my eTBR pile (non-storage-space-related shame!)
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
I Know I Am, But What Are You? by Samantha Bee The Power by Naomi Alderman
* Pursuant to the discussion on this post, I’ve decided to create an eTBR pile for e-books and audiobooks that I accept for review or for which I actually pay money. I’m not adding them into my total TBR numbers, but I have to fess up about them somewhere. Keeps me honest.
 

© 2018 Fyrefly’s Book Blog. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Fyrefly’s Book Blog or its RSS feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is being used without permission.

February 2018 Wrap-Up: Books and Reading

March 1, 2018

Ye Grande Olde TBR(e) Challenge Update

I started February with 208 unread books sitting around my house. And I ended with … *drumroll* …205! I’m pretty happy with this month; I didn’t spend quite as much time as I’d wanted reading print (non-graphic-novel) books, but I got through a few, and any month that decreases the TBR pile is a good month.

…anyways, let’s take a look at the breakdown:

Neutral books – Read, but don’t affect the TBR pile

Audiobooks
Ha’Penny by Jo Walton
Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities by Amy Stewart (reviews coming soon)

Read But Not Owned (Books)
The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks
French Milk by Lucy Knisley (reviews coming soon)

Re-Reads
Rat Queens, Vol. 3: Demons by Kurtis J. Wiebe (review coming soon)
Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (huzzah!)
The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry
My Life in France by Julia Child
Rat Queens, Vol. 4: High Fantasies by Kurtis J. Wiebe (reviews coming soon)

 

Added to my TBR pile (all-around shame!)
Nothing this month!

 
Non-TBR acquisitions (storage-space-related shame!)
Nothing this month either!
 
Added to my eTBR pile (non-storage-space-related shame!)
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders The Dispatcher by John Scalzi
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo * Pursuant to the discussion on this post, I’ve decided to create an eTBR pile for e-books and audiobooks that I accept for review or for which I actually pay money. I’m not adding them into my total TBR numbers, but I have to fess up about them somewhere. Keeps me honest.
 

© 2018 Fyrefly’s Book Blog. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Fyrefly’s Book Blog or its RSS feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is being used without permission.

January 2018 Wrap-Up: Books and Reviews

February 26, 2018

Ye Grande Olde TBR(e) Challenge Update

I started January with 209 unread books sitting around my house. And I ended with … *drumroll* …208! Not too shabby! I managed to read more than I usually do at the start of a new semester, and I’ve been very good about not acquiring new books, so that’s something.

…anyways, let’s take a look at the breakdown:

Neutral books – Read, but don’t affect the TBR pile

Audiobooks
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein (reviews coming soon)

E-Books
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay (reviews coming soon)

Re-Reads
Saga, Vol. 6 by Brian K. Vaughan (review coming soon)
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (huzzah!)
Saga, Vol. 7 by Brian K. Vaughan

 

Added and then read (um… huzzah?)
Saga, Vol. 8 by Brian K. Vaughan

 
 
Added to my TBR pile (all-around shame!)
Nothing this month, hooray!  
 
Added to my eTBR pile (non-storage-space-related shame!)
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill The Fold by Peter Clines
Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities by Amy Stewart The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baron Orczy
* Pursuant to the discussion on this post, I’ve decided to create an eTBR pile for e-books and audiobooks that I accept for review or for which I actually pay money. I’m not adding them into my total TBR numbers, but I have to fess up about them somewhere. Keeps me honest.
 

© 2018 Fyrefly’s Book Blog. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Fyrefly’s Book Blog or its RSS feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is being used without permission.

December 2017 Wrap-Up: Books and Reviews

January 1, 2018

Ye Grande Olde TBR(e) Challenge Update

I started December with 210 unread books sitting around my house. And I ended with … *drumroll* …209! The holidays are always hectic but I managed to get a fair bit read anyways. Didn’t get any books for Christmas other than a cookbook, though, although that’s probably for the best. I did acquire a fair number of ebooks and audiobooks, though. I can’t be good all the time!

…anyways, let’s take a look at the breakdown:

Neutral books – Read, but don’t affect the TBR pile

Audiobooks
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (reviews coming soon)

Read But Not Owned (Books)
The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan
– Locke & Key: Small World by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez (reviews coming soon)

E-Books
– A Court of Thorns and Roses
by Sarah J. Maas (review coming soon)

Re-Reads
Locke & Key, Vol. 2: Head Games by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
Locke & Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
Locke & Key, Vol. 4: Keys to the Kingdom by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
Locke & Key, Vol. 5: Clockworks by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
Locke & Key, Vol. 6: Alpha and Omega by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

   

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (huzzah!)
Landline by Rainbow Rowell (review coming soon)

 
 
Added to my TBR pile (all-around shame!)
Miraculously, nothing this month!  
 
Non-TBR acquisitions (storage-space-related shame!)
The City Tavern Cookbook: Recipes from the Birthplace of American Cuisine by Walter Staib  
 
Added to my eTBR pile (non-storage-space-related shame!)
Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink Hidden Figures: The Untold True Story of Four African-American Women Who Helped Launch our Nation Into Space by Margot Lee Shetterly
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
Uprooted by Naomi Novik * Pursuant to the discussion on this post, I’ve decided to create an eTBR pile for e-books and audiobooks that I accept for review or for which I actually pay money. I’m not adding them into my total TBR numbers, but I have to fess up about them somewhere. Keeps me honest.
 

© 2018 Fyrefly’s Book Blog. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Fyrefly’s Book Blog or its RSS feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is being used without permission.

November 2017 Wrap-Up: Books and Reading

December 20, 2017

Ye Grande Olde TBR(e) Challenge Update

I started November with 211 unread books sitting around my house. And I ended with … *drumroll* …210! I had houseguests for a large chunk of the month, and I never get much reading done when I’ve got houseguests – there’s always something else to be doing, or else I feel weird reading (or having my earbuds in for listening) instead of being social. So it was a pretty sparse month, reading-wise. But at least I was good about not acquiring more (physical) books.

…anyways, let’s take a look at the breakdown:

Neutral books – Read, but don’t affect the TBR pile

Audiobooks
Locke and Key by Joe Hill (review coming soon)

Re-Reads
Locke & Key Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill
A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (huzzah!)
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton (review coming soon)

 
Added to my TBR pile (all-around shame!)
Nothing this month!  
 
Non-TBR acquisitions (storage-space-related shame!)
Nothing this month either!  
 
Added to my eTBR pile (non-storage-space-related shame!)
The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart * Pursuant to the discussion on this post, I’ve decided to create an eTBR pile for e-books and audiobooks that I accept for review or for which I actually pay money. I’m not adding them into my total TBR numbers, but I have to fess up about them somewhere. Keeps me honest.
 

© 2017 Fyrefly’s Book Blog. All Rights Reserved. If you’re reading this on a site other than Fyrefly’s Book Blog or its RSS feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is being used without permission.